Halal Food Guide for Muslims living in Korea

(Version 1.1)

Assalaam-u-Alaikum all Brothers and Sisters,

This document has been prepared for your acknowledgement and guidance about the food available in Korea specifically and in other countries in general.

Since pork is the biggest source of meat in Korea, and Koreans eat pork almost daily, so the chances become relatively high for the animal byproducts to be from pork (animal byproducts in general and fats in particular are included in biscuits, chocolates, snacks and breads etc.).

1- A worth mentioning issue here is that the ratio of usage of fat from pork is not equal to the %age of pork consumed. This is because, other animals do not

contain very high amount of fat, so they are very less likely to be used as animal fat source.

For example: Lets Assume that a product A contains animal fat (shortening) in a country, and %age of pork consumption in that country is 70%, then it is around 90% possible for the product A to have fat from pork as compared to other animals. (The numbers used in the previous example are just for elaboration and not a statistical survey)

Please note: 1- It is not all about Shortening, there are other words also. For example, the other word for shortening is , which means Animal Fat (pork fat of course ) 2- There is one exception for the fat (shortening) to be permissible, that is, if it is from vegetable/beans source. That exception is mentioned in the table below. 3- The products such as biscuits and chocolates etc which are mentioned as Halal in this document are not guaranteed to be Halal, but in fact we consider them Halal according to our limited findings. Again, this document is not a Fatwa on foods but is to give general guideline.

2- Please Keep in Mind that if you consider a foreign brand product to be Halal but if it contains the ingredients written in Korean language as well, then it

is not necessary for that product to be Halal. This is because; the ingredients policy of a company depends upon the type of local rules or population of a country. In a less halal aware countries like Korea, the foreign companies will use those ingredients which they find easily available, so they wont bother about Halal or Haram in that non-Muslim country.

The Halal/Haram specification in the table below has been compiled by taking the guidance from the different Islamic resources. Especially the following Canadian Muslims website has been very helpful for any this purpose: http://www.eat-halal.com/ingredients.shtml

The table is at the next page, and some Halal and Haram products examples are given after the table. References are given at the end of document. -1-

For inquiries, please contact the correspondent: Muhammad Usman, email: virtualeye [at] gmail.com

Product
Haram Meat or Bones powder in the flavoring sachet. Or the noodles may be fried in pork oil (shortening).

Description

Objectionable content

Halal/Haram

Comments
All the flavors of Gin Ramen should be avoided (even the egg flavor etc.) Other instant noodles should also be avoided. Even some noodles may be fried in pork oil.

Ramen/ Ramyun

Instant noodles, Usually the Gin Ramen is thought to be halal, which are usually yellow packing, But its not halal.

Gin Ramen is written on it in English also. CAUTION Rennet is used as an enzyme to make cheese from milk. Most Probably Haram

Such as Gin Ramen ( ), Nongshim Ramen And other instant noodles. Cheese/ Cheese products

Cheese is prepared by using Rennet (obtained from the stomach of animals, specially in Korea pig is the source)

Kelloggs
May Contain Pork/Pig shortening. Should be Avoided

Corn Flakes and other related flakes etc.

Its better to avoid food which contains flavorings resembling to meat. Rennet may also be made through Halal methods, but in non-Muslim countries its source is haram animals. Halal certified cheese is available in Korea (Emart etc.) which is imported from Australia. For people who think that cheese here in Korea is ok, they should read the note about cheese at the end of this table. Kelloggs must be avoided. There are other corn flakes which may be checked for contents.

Denmark Yoghurt
Haram

This Yoghurt comes in plane and several fruit flavors also.

Please see references at the end of this document for objectionable things in kellogs. In fact it contains the Pectin and Gelatin both. Pectin is obtained from fruits, so its Halal.

Breads/bicuits
If contains () which means bean shortening then its Halal.

Many Muslims are not aware of the fact that some snack or bread contains Haram ingredient, e.g. (Shortening) and (animal/pork fat).

Contains An odorless, tasteless, protein substance like glue or jelly, obtained by boiling the bones, hoofs, and other waste parts of animals. May contain shortening (pig fat oil) or (animal/pork fat). CAUTION If contains only the word or then Haram. If contains () then its Halal. Haram

Gelatin is obtained from animals, so its haram. Shortening is from pork oil. So avoid it when you see the Korean word ''.

Gelatin and Jelly

Gelatin itself.

It is thought that the corn breads, potato breads and rice breads are free for shortening. However, not all corn and potato breads are free of animal fat, such as the 470 grams Lotte Corn Bread contains (animal/pork fat) Also the corn bread with brand name of Kirin contains shortening. Any product containing Gelatin is haram.

Marshmallow

It is an odorless, tasteless, protein substance like glue or jelly, obtained by boiling the bones, hoofs, and other waste parts of animals. It is used in making jellied salads and desserts usually sticky content. Contains Gelatin Contains Marshmallow

Haram Haram

If there is written on a product Fruits Jelly then it does not mean it is made from fruits. The Jelly which is obtained from fruits is not Gelatin but that is called Pectin. Dont be fooled. All products containing marshmallow are haram. Marshmallow is made from meat. All products containing marshmallow are haram. Marshmallow is made from meat.

Chocopie ()

Popular chocolate biscuits. Popular are Lotte Chocopie and Orion Chocopie.

For inquiries, please contact the correspondent: Muhammad Usman, email: virtualeye [at] gmail.com

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Product
contains Processed Fat Very Doubtful

Description

Objectionable content

Halal/Haram

Comments

Ghana Chocolate

One of the most popular chocolates in Korea

Chocolates
Chocolates usually contain objectionable contents, such as lecithin, whey or whey powder, vanilla liquid flavoring, gelatin etc. Very Doubtful

All chocolates available in Korea

Allah knows what kind of processed fat they use. But we should remember that the cheapest and frequent way to use fat is the pork fat. Even we sent some emails to Lotte Conf. in Korean Language but they did not reply what kind of fat they use. If somebody thinks that he can not live without chocolates then he can buy the chocolate and dairy products made by Cadbury which are claimed by them to be Halal certified. Also one may buy Mars or Snickers (by Mars inc.) (Not Korean made Snickers and Mars but purely international)

Lecithin ( )
If Lecithin() then Doubtful. If Soya Lecithin then Halal. Should be avoided. If in the contents of a product, only Lecithin is written then its objectionable. If Soya Lecithin is written then its Halal. Like in making cheese, the rennet is used as an enzyme to make whey.

An emulsifying ingredient written in the contents of foods.

Whey/ Whey powder

The flavor extracted from vanilla beans is most commonly dissolved in alcohol. Documentation from a distributor of vanilla extract showed that the ingredient contained 50% alcohol. Most of Strawberry flavored milk contains a red color obtained from an insect called cochineal. May contain Haram ingredients, specially the gum may contain some animal fat. Two main ingredients which might be present are: Stearic Acid (softner for gum, source: animals or vegetables) and If liquid vanilla extract used then avoid it.

Vanilla Flavor/extract ( )

The watery part of milk that separates from the curd when milk sours and becomes coagulated, or when cheese is made. A flavoring extract made from the vanilla bean and used in candy, ice cream, and perfumes.

The best option is to buy cocoa powder (but free of gelatin). An emulsifier is used as a rising agent to give rise to the product. There are two sources of Lecithin. Animals and Plants. If the Soya Lecithin ( or ) is written then its Halal. If only Lecithin is written then its doubtful. Since the biggest source of Rennet is mostly animals and here in Korea the biggest animal source is Pigs, so products containing Whey or Whey powder should be avoided. We can not make sure if the vanilla flavor used in product was liquid or solid. So It is strongly recommended to avoid it. The solid form vanilla flavor is made by vaporizing alcohol from vanilla liquid. There is a difference of opinion of scholars about using alcohol vaporized product or about the minor amount of alcohol-dissolved flavor.

Flavored Milk

Milk comes in Banana and strawberry flavor

If solid vanilla flavor is used, then it could be used. Strawberry flavor not Recommended.

Chewing Gums

Hundreds of kinds available

Doubtful

Cochineal is a beetle, which is ground and used as powder as a natural red color source. Any artificially red colored product must be used instead of cochineal. Gums should be avoided as they may contain some processed fat or other Haram ingredients.

glycerol monostearate (Haram)

Pork fat. Haraam If this Korean word is written in the ingredients of a product then it means the product contains animal/pork fat. All animal fats are haram in a non-Muslim country like Korea. As mentioned above, pork fat is the cheapest and most abundant.

Animal Fat other than Shortening ( Means Animal Oil/Fat)

Pronounced as Thonngmulsong Yoojee . Animal fat. (possibly pork fat)

For inquiries, please contact the correspondent: Muhammad Usman, email: virtualeye [at] gmail.com

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About Cheese Rennet is a yellow enzyme which is obtained from the stomach of infant calves and pigs. According to some schools of thought such as Hanafi and Ahmad, the rennet obtained from non-Islamically slaughtered animal is ok, but for maliki and shaafaai schools of thought that rennet is Nijs (Filthy). We did not inquire about the source of rennet in Korea. If any people think that in Korea, Rennet is obtained from calves then they should correct their opinion after reading the following response of Kraft cheese manufacturer:

"Thank you very much for asking if Kraft cheese products contain any animal derivatives. Our comments here apply only to products produced in the United States. Many cheese products produced in the United States do contain a coagulating enzyme derived from either beef or swine. The process of changing fluid milk into cheese consists of coagulating the milk by one of two commonly used methods, each resulting in cheese having distinct characteristics.

The most common method of coagulating milk is by the use of an enzyme preparation, rennet, which traditionally was made from the stomachs of veal calves. Since the consumption of calves for veal has not kept pace with the demand for rennet in the preparation of cheese, a distinct shortage of this enzyme has developed. Consequently, a few years ago it became a common practice to mix the rennet extract from calves' stomachs with a pepsin enzyme derived primarily from the stomachs of swine. These enzymes convert the fluid milk into a semi-solid mass as one of the steps in the manufacture of cheese. This mixture of calf rennet and pepsin extract is quite commonly and widely used within the United States.

A more recent development in this area has been the use of enzymes derived from the growth of pure cultures of certain molds. These are termed microbial rennets. They are commonly used for the production of certain types of cheese and contain no animal products. Kraft Domestic Swiss Cheese (any Kraft Swiss not labeled "Imported" from a foreign country) is made with microbial rennet. Apart from Kraft Domestic Swiss Cheese, it is almost impossible for us to assure you that any hard cheese product which you might purchase from Kraft or any other American source is absolutely free of animal-derived enzymes.

Reference: http://www.natural-connection.com/resource/tnc_reference_library/cheese.html

Now after reading the above, please understand that the calves are much scarcer (rare) in Korea as compared to USA. So it is much more possible for Rennet to be made from infant Pigs in Korea. (If you are doubtful about the scarcity of calves then please go to market and compare the price of pork with price of beef and get surprised)

For inquiries, please contact the correspondent: Muhammad Usman, email: virtualeye [at] gmail.com

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White Heim (made by Orion)

Haram (Black chocolate and

Rose flavors are also Haram)

For inquiries, please contact the correspondent: Muhammad Usman, email: virtualeye [at] gmail.com

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Haram

Disclaimer: The products which are mentioned as Halal but not totally confirmed are considered as Halal but we can not

always guarantee it to be totally Halal, instead we can recommend them for use as compared to other confirmed Haram items. This guide is to give brief idea about the contents of food; so please do not grip our necks on Judgment Day.

WallahuAalam - Allah knows better what is right

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For inquiries, please contact the correspondent: Muhammad Usman, email: virtualeye [at] gmail.com

Bega Cheese (Imported from Australia) a

Halal Certified (All the Dairy

Products made by Bega are Halal)

For inquiries, please contact the correspondent: Muhammad Usman, email: virtualeye [at] gmail.com

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Acknowledgements I am very much thankful to my Muslim brothers for reviewing and providing the critics on this ebook. May Allah reward the following brothers: safee_ullah [at] hotmail.com ihsanjut [at] yahoo.com tayyebishfaq [at] yahoo.com

Safee-Ullah Ihsan-ul-Haq Tayyab Ashfaq Butt.

References include but not limited to:

Info. About halal: www.eat-halal.com http://www.halalsearch.net/ http://www.halalandharam.com/ingrediants.asp About Red color obtained from insects: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochineal About Gelatin: http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=210&ln=eng&txt=rennet%20pig About Rennet for Cheese: http://www.natural-connection.com/resource/tnc_reference_library/cheese.html About Kellogs: http://www.salaam.co.uk/forum/read.php?f=4&i=1498&t=1469&v=f

Appendix:

1- Most of the Imported Dairy Products and Chocolates by Cadbury, Australia are Halal certified.

2- Cheese lovers can buy the imported Australian cheese available by the brand name: Bega (See images of Bega cheese in the images area).

For inquiries, please contact the correspondent: Muhammad Usman, email: virtualeye [at] gmail.com

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